Extensive Russian propaganda operations in the United States come to light as prosecutors charge online influencers and broadcasters

Two court cases have been opened in the United States that suggest Russia's influence operations in North America are extensive and well-funded.

The US has pressed charges against two employees of Russian state-controlled publisher RT, for their part in large influence and propaganda operation on American soil that saw thousands of videos generated and posted to TikTok, Instagram, Twitter-X, and YouTube.

Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva are alleged to have violated the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and  also face allegations of money laundering. The pair who acted under covert identities with fake names are at large, the US said.

Covertly financed to the tune of US$10 million, the operation was conducted through what the US Department of Justice referred to as a "Tennessee-based online content creation company". 

US media report the company in question is Tenet Media, which hosts several popular right-wing commentators and influencers, including Canadian Lauren Southern who, in 2018, was prevented from speaking at Auckland Council venues together with another far-right activist, Stefan Molyneux.

That illicit funding accounted for nearly 90% of the company's bank deposits and arrived via shell companies in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Mauritius. It was often disguised as payments for the purchase of electronic goods, like US$318,000 for Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max smartphones.

The influencing operation was publicly launched late last year, and has been extensive. Nearly 2000 videos have been posted on multiple social media channels, US prosecutors said, receiving over 16 million views.

According to the US indictment the videos contain commentary on US domestic and foreign policy current affairs with most views "directed to the publicly stated goals of the government of Russia and RT - to amplify domestic divisions in the United States."

As an example given by US prosecutors, Afanasyeva asked one of the Tenet Media founders to blame Ukraine and the United States for the March 2024 terrorist attack on a Moscow music venue:

“I think we can focus on the Ukraine/U.S. angle. . . . [T]he mainstream media spread fake news that ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack yet ISIS itself never made such statements. All terrorists are now detained while they were heading to the border with Ukraine which makes it even more suspicious why they would want to go to Ukraine to hide,” Afanasyeva wrote, according to court documents.

If found guilty of violating the FARA, Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva face a maximum prison sentence of five years; however, the money laundering charges could be punished with up to 20 years in prison, US authorities said.

Separately, US prosecutors charged Dimitri and Anastasia Simes, residents of Virginia, for money laundering. One of the charges relate to the sanctioned Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia, the US said.

The other involves sanctioned oligarch Aleksandr Udodov, with Anastasia Simes and others said to have participated in an large-scale illicit scheme to buy antiques from galleries in Europe and the United States.

After the antiques were shipped to Simes' residence in Virginia, they were forwarded to Russia. For this, Anastasia Simes was reimbursed and paid a service fee, the US said.

Dimitri Simes is a former campaign adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. He is alleged to have violated US sanctions by working as a highly paid presenter for Channel One Russia.

Update YouTube has deleted Tenet Media's channel.